Dragon Age: Past, Present, and Future

Op-ed: Recently, fans of the Dragon Age series received some much-anticipated news; Dragon Age III: Inquisitionhas been officially announced. Details about the game are just fuzzy enough for wild speculation to surface, also encouraging fans to become very vocal about their hopes for the next installment, as well as reflections on the predecessors.

Official Title Art

Fans can have a large impact on the gaming industry, both directly and indirectly. The most infamous case of direct fan influence was the recent Mass Effect 3 controversy. Fans of the series took to the internet to demand a better ending to the game. From a Kickstarter fundraiser, to angry blog posts, to Facebook groups, the fan base was very vocal and ended up succeeding. They got their extended cut.

This marks a change in the video game industry. BioWare has given fans a greater sense of power and influence, something fans of other media haven’t ever felt. What could this mean for Dragon Age III?

Dragon Age: Origins was a well received game; it earned numerous awards including Game of the Year (2009) from various publications. Its sequel, however, was not as welcomed. What was so loved about Origins? What was missing from DA2? What should be incorporated into the third game?

Curious as I am, I created an online survey to try and fully understand the feelings of Dragon Age fans. But before we get into that, I feel as if I should offer a bit of backstory: I love the Dragon Age series, but I came into it differently than most others. Dragon Age 2 was the first game I ever played on my Xbox 360. Prior to Dragon Age 2, I was still working through the extensive PS2 library.

When I started DA2, I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. The graphics! The character interaction! I’d been playing games where I would become someone else, but in this game, a bit of my personal character could shine through. Needless to say, I fell in love. I quickly invested in Dragon Age: Origins and started out disappointed. The world was dark, the battle mechanics slow, and I never felt like I was making progress. A couple hours in (and a deep romance later), I was hooked. It was the greatest thing I’d ever played, and I’ve played through it many times since.

More Flemmeth Please

That being said, I never understood the criticisms of DA2. That’s where the survey comes in. Thanks to the fine folk over at r/DragonAge, I was offered a little more insight into opinions of the series.

The most interesting thing I learned is that Dragon Age 2 isn’t a bad game. It simply could be better. While 73% of the responders preferred DA:O, DA2 was still a satisfactory game. When asked to rate storyline, controls, battle mechanics, graphics, sound, character interaction, replay value, and the game overall, the majority of rankings were “good,” “very good,” or “excellent.” Very few fell under “fair” or “poor.” And that trend also applies to DA:O; very few responses were negative.

Deeper character interaction/customization: In DA:O, character interactions had an effect on the gameplay and their armor was fully customizable. Shallow character interaction results in lesser emotional involvement.

Smoother battle style: While the battle style in DA2 was smoother, it didn’t leave room for strategy. Waves of enemies diminished the battle into a simpler, button-mashing confrontation.

Larger worlds, no more landscape repeats: Repeating caves, coasts, and mountain paths made the game feel rushed and underdeveloped

Don’t pander to ‘casual gamers’: DA2 felt like it was geared towards more casual gamers, making it simplified and less engaging than DA:O.

Fully voiced character vs more options: If having a fully-voiced character leads to fewer dialogue choices, silent characters are ok. Players miss deeper character to NPC interactions. (Lying to get out of trouble, persuading to convince people.)

The fans of the series are still excited for DA3, but still weary. But BioWare is listening. In an open letter from from Mark Darrah, executive producer of the Dragon Age series, he writes about the plans for DA3.

Mark Darrah

“We've visited message boards, read reviews, and we've gone to events to have direct face to face conversations with some of our most passionate fans. We've been listening, and we will continue to listen.”

Darrah also goes on to confirm what had previously been rumors:

The next game will be called Dragon Age III: Inquisition.

We won't be talking about the story of the game today. Though you can make some guesses from the title.

This game is being made by a lot of the same team that has been working on Dragon Age since Dragon Age: Origins. It's composed of both experienced BioWare veterans and talented new developers.

We are working on a new engine which we believe will allow us to deliver a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization. At PAX East, we talked about armor and followers… Yeah, that kind of customization. We've started with Frostbite 2 from DICE as a foundation to accomplish this.

The fans' voices have been heard! The future looks bright for the Dragon Age series. Many questions still lay unanswered for DA3: next generation platform? Deeper storyline? Customization? We won't know for some time yet, but the best any fan can do is to continue the conversation. If the video game industry is headed towards a deeper consumer-developer relationship, Dragon Age III: Inquisition will be a telltale example of the potential success such a relationship could bring.

I'm incredibly excited for the next installment, even though I have to wait another two years. I re-played through both DA:O and DA2 recently to really submerge myself in the ideas presented by other Dragon Age fans. I've become emotionally attached to the series and this exploration in to both games helped me appreciate their differences, as well as understanding what fans want.